For those of you who are too young to remember it, there is a movie about a gentleman named George M. Cohen. One of the songs from it is “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy, born on the Fourth of July.”
I can relate to that song because my natal day was Memorial Day. Back then, Memorial Day was not an obligatory commission to the closest Monday. It was, by official command, May 30. Well, I will confess that my mother started the delivery process on May 30 but did not present me to the world until 3 a.m. May 31. But she was insistent I was a Memorial Day baby.
And so, in my world, Memorial Day was especially superior. You see, back then, in my hometown in western New York, the biggest parade of the year was the Memorial Day parade. I would be seated (by my parents), just across from the reviewing stand. And then, what a day! Tanks, bands, soldiers and sailors, drum corps, jeeps and veterans of the big one – WWII – dressed in their very best. Oh yes, and they (my parents) were doing this all for me on my (almost) birthday. Hey, I was almost 8 years of age before I figured out the truth. I don’t know if I have yet forgiven mom and dad for that game. What the heck, after the parade, even though they really didn’t have to spend a lot of cash on presents, I always got a birthday cake.
If the truth be told, I ended up marching in that parade a few years later after I joined a drum-and-bugle corps. But, that’s another story for a later date. The fact is parades have always been a special event for me. Since moving to this region, I have spent a lot of parade days watching them.
My favorite parade activities are the bands and the floats. But, no matter what, I love a parade. Now, I must admit after watching parade venues in St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Joseph, I find the St. Joseph July 4 parade is somewhat lacking in bands. But, on July 4, it’s the only ballgame in town, and I (along with 10,000 others) wouldn’t miss it for the world.
It is, of course, a follow up to the wonderful July 3 party, complete with great fireworks. For years, as you may or may not know, it featured rock ‘n’ roller Bobby Vee. However, now he’s retired, the show goes on with his children and grandchildren making it every bit as special. This year the Vees are doing a salute to Neil Diamond – one of my favorite artists. Yes, I can hear it now. Somewhere out there some young pup is saying “Neil who?”
But let us return to the parade. I love the St. Joseph Parade. It’s candy-strewn floats with waving princesses from some near-by town. And, it’s an endless procession of trucks, tractors, towing vehicles. And I enjoy every minute of it.
Nevertheless, this is the year I hate the parade. Why? Because, it’s an election year. Every election year, the parade is vexed with people (whatever political party) who are so stupid they think their parade presence is what 10,000 viewers want to see. And they skip, march, wave and pass out their political propaganda. In the process, they extend the parade time by about 30 minutes. In many cases, the candidate they are supporting isn’t even in the parade. He or she is smart enough to be spending July 4 at their summer residence on Lake Mishmuschi.
OK, for the sake of argument, l might be wrong. So, here’s what I propose. I recommend during an election year, every parade setting have a political section. We will call it Section 4. It would be the final section of the procession. Now, all of the parade watchers who want to support those political beliefs can stick around and wait for Section 4 to skip, march, wave and pass out their political propaganda. Hey, Section 4, you better have some real good candy because by the time you get a block past the reviewing stand, everyone will be folding up their chairs and getting in line for some hamburgers.
